


Re-learn One, Re-do One, Re-teach One!

by CookieCatSU



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Also Luz is mad, And who doesn't love that?, Everyone is mad at Lilith, Fluff, Gen, In which Lilith learns to be a real person again, King is a gremlin, Luz becomes the teacher, Post-Episode: s01e19 Young Blood Old Souls, The Owl Clan adjusts to some changes, and Eda relearns magic, except King, except yeah he is too, oooh, with a sprinkling of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:14:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27564349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CookieCatSU/pseuds/CookieCatSU
Summary: The occupants of the Owl House adjust, immediately following the conflict with Belos. Sometimes, that's all one can do.Or: Eda, the most powerful witch of the Boiling Isles, struggles to learn a new way to perform magic.Meanwhile, Lilith struggles to learn how to be part of a family again.King just struggles to keep a straight face.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & King & Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & Lilith Clawthorne
Comments: 2
Kudos: 71





	Re-learn One, Re-do One, Re-teach One!

It didn't fix anything. It's like a cooling balm on a ripe, blistering burn- too little, too late, but at least it's something. They could build on something, Eda supposed. They couldn't build on nothing.

"She doesn't like me," Lillith mentions. She looks uncomfortable.

Good for her, that traitor. 

"Of course she doesn't like you" Eda replies, with a rough scoff, "Why would she like you? I don't even like you right now"

Lilith stares into her mug, expression pinched with discomfort. She looks so out of place it's painful. Once upon a time, Eda would have felt an immense need to reach out to her, would have scrambled to ease any perceived pain. Now, it's hardly even an afterthought. 

She's just so angry. So she watches her, hang her head low, and says absolutely nothing.

"What should I do? How did you get the human to trust you?"

"Gods, seriously? How'd I _get_ her to trust me? Just be yourself- scratch that. Be a _nice_ person, for once"

It's small of her, petty even, but eh, Eda's not perfect. Who is, really?

* * *

They have a routine.

Lilith feels out of place, within it. They: Luz, King and Eda, are a unit. There's a synergy within their bonds that Lilith finds herself envying. She hasn't seen something like it in ages. She used to have it, that warm casual easiness, with Edalyn.

She's a stranger now. 

She _feels_ like a stranger, from her vantage point, seated at the kitchen table, listening to conversations she feels she can't join, watching people she can't connect with. 

The way the human glares at her, as she grabs a mug from the cabinet, only makes it worse. 

"Hey kiddo. Are you staying to eat?" Eda smiles at the human, so uncharacteristically warm.

"Sorry Eda. No time!"

"It'll be quick" Eda lets out a sigh of disappointment, "Come on, I stayed up all night just so I could cook you breakfast"

Luz apologizes. She's already got one foot out the door, though, so it's moot. "Gotta go! I'll see you after school!"

Lilith excuses herself almost immediately after the human leaves.

"Where are the pots?" Eda snaps, to herself. King wonders what she needs it for, considering everyone else up and left.

"Just conjure one up," King pipes up from across the room with a shrug. She glares at him in annoyance at the suggestion.

His eyes get big, and Eda sees the second when realization happens. He laughs awkwardly, and nods once.

"Oh, right. Forgot ya can't do that no more" He laughs again, probably to mask his discomfort. "Don't worry. I can dig a couple up"

He jumps off of his chair with a plop, and scurries off.

Eda sighs, once he's out of the room. 

* * *

_What have I done that's so wrong,_ Lilith wants to ask the child, but she already knows, and she doesn't want to hear the answer. She's terrified of what her response will be.

Even so, she wishes the child would not stare at her quite so harshly.

She's envious of her sister. Yes, Lilith finally admits it. She's always been, at least to a certain degree, envious of Eda. She always seems to have what Lilith does not, always seems to get what Lilith craves at the core of her very being. She's better at magic, naturally surpasses her by leaps and bounds, and she has always been better at making friends. She breezes through every task she sets her mind to. She's naturally likeable, and yes, Lilith was the better grudgby player, but she never cared about that. Grudgby was never important.

Eda is better than her in every way that counts.

Worse yet, Eda is willing to give those things up so willingly. All Lilith has to do is ask, and she will gladly give her the last candied crabapple, though she loves them.

She gives up the Emperor's Coven without a second thought. It infuriates Lilith.

When the Emperor tells them they must duel each other, Lilith raises her wand, and expects Eda to do the same. Eda turns and walks away, instead.

Lilith feels her gut twist in confusion, and guilt, as she watches her sister walk away. 

It explodes into something clawing and choking, when Eda howls out in pain, and Lilith witnesses the consequences of the curse, firsthand, for the very first time.

It feels like she's drowning, when she locks eyes with her, (staring, into bottomless pits of gray, alien and other), and she hears the first throng of frightened, disgusted cries from the crowd.

She must admit, to a perverted sort of satisfaction, when she learns of her sister's status as a criminal. _Perfect Edalyn, not so perfect now,_ she'd thought, several times before.

She hadn't really understood how hard it was, for her. All those years alone. All those years, running. Running for her life.

Now, she's getting a tiny taste.

It sucks.

"Come on, hurry up!" 

That little beast of a demon shouts after her, from over his shoulder, followed by an explosion of laughter. He's running on all fours. Even with that in mind, Lilith can't figure out how he's running _faster_ than her.

She clutches on to the pack (stolen pack) of supplies in her arms tighter, as she dodges a well aimed spell from one of the Warden's cronies. It singes the tips of her hair, but the surge of heat misses her head.

"Oh, Titan!" She exclaims, voice fraught with fright.

They're running through the middle of the market, and they've got about 20 guards chasing them. She would have thought they would have lost them by now- Lilith had never known any of the guards to be particularly fast, or agile, or competent. And it wasn't for lack of trying- the demon, King, throws up every roadblock for them he possibly can, purposely running into trash cans, bowling people over, and causing general havoc, all with a chaotic laugh. 

Still, they persist.

And Lilith, overwhelmed as she is, falls further behind.

"You stick out like a sore thumb, don't you" King boasts, as he briefly looks back at her. She scowls in confusion, but she's too busy running to ask.

He jumps atop a crabapple stand. The clawed produce tumbles across the street, and screams sound. All the people in the immediate area flee.

Lilith nearly stumbles over the mess. Everything aches, and her heart is pounding in her chest. Fingers brush over the back of Lilith's shawl. She jumps, and just barely evades capture.

"You're bad at this whole outlaw thing" He adds cheekily, at the sight of how frazzled she is.

"Just… How are we getting out of here?"

"Couple more lefts. Then there should be a trapdoor. We hide in there until they get tired of looking for us"

Lilith nods.

Someone yanks on the back of her shawl, and she falls back with a yelp. When she turns she finds herself face to face with one of the guards. She twists enough to break his tentative grip, and stumbles away, side brushing the narrow walkways of the market. 

She raises her hand, fully intending on casting a ice spell… and then, she remembers she can't.

The guard stomps closer, towering over her. He sneers at her.

"Lilith Clawthorne, you are under arrest by Order of the Emperor!"

Lilith, panicked, grabs a trash can lid and bashes him in the face with it. She takes her chance to run while he's dazed.

King, who's hanging close by, waiting for her, actually, pounces on her as soon as she rounds the corner.

"Woah. That was awesome!" He shouts, scurrying up her shoulder. The bounce of her gait doesn't bother him a bit, as he comfortably nestles like a parrot at her side, "Maybe I take it back... You're still not a full-on outlaw yet, but you've got the makings!"

Lilith offers a tiny smile in response.

* * *

The first magic lesson is purely Eda's idea.

"I'm tired of washing my own dishes," Eda says, and that's explanation enough.

Luz outlines a whole lesson plan, including the entirety of all she knows: three spells, plus the light spell. By the time evening comes, she's ready, armed with notes and everything.

Both King and Eda sit, attentive, on the edge of the couch.

"Well kid? Come on! Show us what ya got"

Luz smiles happily, and reaches out with a stack of paper, "Everyone take a piece. You too King, if you want. This is equal opportunity!"

King happily snatches a piece with a noise of triumph. Eda grabs one as well, before pushing King back on the couch. He hisses, stomps, and then sits down.

"Okay. Now for the first lesson. The Light Spell; and how to draw circles"

She's cheery. Her students are excited. Everything's looking good.

That doesn't last long. Which is to say it lasts exactly an hour. 

Eda's still focused, but she's also gone through half the stack of paper. King has already lost interest. He throws the paper on the floor with a huff when it becomes clear there'd be no instant gratification.

"This is boring" King blows a raspberry, throws his arms behind his head, and gets up to leave, "Yeah, I'm gonna bounce. Peace!"

Eda brushes him off with a wave of her hand.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever"

Luz smiles. Batting 50/50 odds was still pretty good.

* * *

"This is harder than it looks," Eda says, with a laugh. Her hand jerks, just slightly, and the curved line she'd been drawing ends up with a side hook that's insanely out of place. Luz smiles, encouraging but most importantly _understanding,_ and nods.

"Yeah. You've gotta have a steady hand" She replies lightly, and she reaches out to guide her hand in the movement. The shaking lessens, as soon as Luz's hand touches Eda's, and the last edge of the circle is managed.

Eda stares at the glyphless circle. Her mouth twists. 

She jumps to her feet, then, startling Luz. She looks down at the child with a taut, almost superficial grin.

"I'm going to grab a snack. Want one?"

Luz nods.

Eda disappears into the kitchen before Luz can speak. 

* * *

Teaching Eda how to do magic the non-traditional way, with paper and pencils and such, isn't quite as fun as Luz had been anticipating. Well, that's not quite right, because it is fun, yes, but it's also exhausting and draining.

It's hard. It's hard for Luz, but it's especially difficult for Eda. She struggles to remember the glyph patterns, struggles to draw the circles so they don't look like janky approximations of spiky dragon fruit. 

The curse has ravaged her body, her spirit, her _everything,_ leaving Eda particularly weak, even after Lilith's spell, so she also usually struggles to hold the pencil without her hand shaking.

She's frustrated. Luz has seen it in her eyes, that watery look of pure frustration, just edging on tears.

They've managed to get to their third lesson, and Luz is starting to understand why Eda had only drummed up the wherewithal to teach her a second spell after nearly a month.

The disappointment shining in the witch's eyes hurts too much to watch.

Eda leans over the scrap paper, drawing away. It's a simplistic glyph, for an equally simplistic spell. She should be able to get it done no problem.

When she activates the glyph the ink half lifts from the page in a murky blobby mess, before dissolving entirely.

Eda erases the entirety of the image and starts over again. 

Okay, Attempt 35 was no good. Attempt 36 is a go.

Maybe she'd get it right this time.

* * *

"Am I a bad teacher?"

Amity closes her Alchemy 108 textbook with a confused hum.

"What?"

Luz twiddles her thumbs, chewing at her lip.

"Well, I've been teaching Eda how to do magic the human way, since the _incident._ And she just hasn't made a ton of progress. She's trying really hard, but she's getting frustrated, and I don't blame her"

"Oh. Wow. That's a lot" Amity says, clearly still processing. Luz nods. "But I'm not sure what that has to do with you being a bad teacher? Am I confused?"

"I'm just wondering if maybe the reason she's not progressing is because I'm bad at instructing"

"Nooo. I know you're great at teaching, Luz" Amity replies simply, "You taught me to be nicer... And to appreciate rounded ears"

Luz laughs, "Guilty"

"I'm proud of you," Amity adds. She pats Luz on the hand. And if either of them turn a little red, well, that's neither here nor there.

"Let's get back to Alchemy, shall we?" Amity says smoothly, opening her book back to page 86.

Luz nods eagerly, scrambling to procure her book.

"Yeah. That sounds good"

* * *

"I can't do it!" Eda howls, and she balls up the paper in her hands so tight she'd surely sustained several vicious paper cuts, and stomps off.

She runs, really. Runs for the attic.

Luz follows.

It's terrifying, watching the Owl Lady, self proclaimed strongest witch on the Isles, curl up against the edge of her makeshift nest like a frightened child. She looks almost nothing like Eda, teary eyed and shaking, and so, so, so very small.

Luz sits down beside her mentor on the side of the nest, chest tight with sympathy. She isn't certain what to do, at first, mostly because the whole situation feels so off, so out of place. It only takes her a moment to realize she's never had to comfort Eda, at least not like this. Another moment's reflection, and she realizes she's never seen Eda cry.

She's never looked so small before. It makes Luz feel sick to her stomach.

"Are you okay?" Luz asks, though she knows she isn't.

Eda hiccups, pressing her face further against the inside of her arms, which are locked around her knees. She doesn't respond at first, but Luz doesn't push for an answer. Eda would probably appreciate time to think.

Moments stretch into seconds, terse and long enough to feel like hours. Eventually, Eda does peek up at her, and seems surprised when she sees Luz still sitting there.

"Give it up, Kid. I'm decrepit" She croaks, "I'mma fossil. I can't- I can't learn this stuff. Just look at me"

Luz is struck by how out of place, her single gray eye is, at that moment. It's void, somehow. Empty. Husk-like. She hadn't thought much of it, when it first made its appearance. It was different, but Luz was just happy to have Eda back, so happy in fact she didn't even notice the change until a couple days later.

That eye is an antithesis to everything Eda is. It's a leaking, of doubt and insecurity.

"Don't say that" Luz says, "Don't-" There's a flair of anger, not truly directed at the woman beside her, but for her, perhaps. About her, absolutely. It crawls up and out of Luz's throat before she can stop it, hot and indignant. 

"You aren't decrepit, Eda! You aren't beyond help!" She doesn't try to pull the heat back, once it starts to spill out. "So let me help you"

Eda's eyes widen in surprise. Luz too, is a little surprised, even taken aback by her own outburst, the pure passion behind it, but then she straightens and waits for a response, because she definitely wasn't taking it back. She meant every word.

"What do you call this, then?" She points at herself. Her eye. The tears, smeared across her face, the snot running from her nose.

Then she attempts to perform a spell circle, as if to further prove her point (or maybe solely to depress herself further… she seemed in that kind of mood). It flickers, sputters, corrodes, and then falls out of the air, as expected.

"I'm weak"

"You're the Owl Lady. The most powerful witch of the Boiling Isles" Luz reaches for her hand, before she can attempt another pointless circle. It's shaking, more so than usual, "Not being able to spout magic out of your finger doesn't change that"

Eda looks confused.

"Bullcrap" Eda says, finally, "Isn't that what power is about? What makes me powerful literally is the ability to do magic. That's the definition, kiddo. If you looked up powerful in the dictionary, it'd have a picture of me, doing _magic._ Not drawing crappy, busted glyphs"

Luz shakes her head. "You were powerful because you were strong. You still are strong. And you're strong because you're resilient, not because you can make fireballs out of thin air. Not that that isn't awesome, because it is… but that's not what makes you strong, or what makes you the Owl Lady"

"Skepticism" Eda says, with eyebrow raised. A soft smile tugs at the edge of her mouth, though, so Luz knows she's getting through to her. It's working.

"It's true" Luz answers emphatically, "Your strong. That's why you're going to get through this. You're going to learn to use glyphs, because your determined and stubborn, and you never give up"

"That sounds suspiciously like someone else I know" She's really smiling, full blown, now. It looks a little odd, next to the smeared mascara, but Luz is so happy to see it.

Luz tackles Eda in a hug with a laugh, before she can stop herself.

Eda lets out a loud 'oof,' arms awkwardly hanging at her sides.

"Just attack me, why don't you?" She jokes, before wrapping her arms around her apprentice.

Was that right? What do you call the apprentice who's also kind of become the teacher? Teach-entice? 

Whatever. 

Eda expels a breath, and decides to just enjoy the hug.

"Thanks" She whispers, as she hugs the girl a little tighter, "I really needed that"

* * *

What was the child's name? Lou, Lizz, Lin, oh, yes, that's it, "Luz? Are you…" Lilith clears her throat, traversing the remainder of the stairs, before coming to a halt at the bottom, "Are you alright?"

The child glares at her. She's standing in the middle of the kitchen, glass in hand. Her hood is pulled over her head, string pulled taut enough that only her eyes and nose are on display. Lilith can spy two triangular shapes jutting from the top of her head as well, in some ugly approximation of an equally ugly creature. It's a truly disgusting article of clothing, Lilith can't help but think, but now was not the time for fashion advice.

"No" Luz says, and the mouth Lilith can't see purses tight in dissatisfaction, "It's not me. It's Eda…." She trails off, and it's very clear by the way she looks sharply away that she has no intentions of finishing the thought.

Lilith shifts in discomfort, drifting nearer. Concern eats away, as she wonders what could be wrong. Eda could be hurt, or injured or worse, and the stone of guilt crushing in her gut only gets heavier as she acknowledges that it would be her fault, her fault for pushing her and leaving her so vulnerable, so susceptible to who knows what (she has no magic- that's as close to powerless as a witch can get: so much worse than the restrictive bounds of a coven), in the first place.

"How is she?" Lilith asks, trying not to sound too strangled. She knows she fails.

The girl discards her glass on the table, with a quiet clatter that sounds like a hurricane. She stares at Lilith from across the kitchen. Lilith stops walking closer, frozen about 6 feet from the child. There's a counter between them. There's worlds between them, really.

Lilith realizes she's staring at her eye- the one faded sterling gray like the color had been sucked out of it. Some part of her desperately wants to reach her hand up to cover it, to hide it from the world (proof of her biggest mistake, stamped on her person to follow her always), but that would be unfair.

Lilith shifts on her feet. The child looks angry, brown eyes squinted, nose crinkled. The midnight shadows cast by the clutter makes her expression look particularly dark, especially ominous. Lilith has only ever seen her look so angry once before, and that was immediately after Lilith admitted to cursing her sister.

"Why would you do that to her?" Luz asks, incredulous, "Why would you _hurt_ her like that? She's your sister. You're family!"

"Sometimes… sometimes family hurts each other, without meaning to"

She looks away. "I didn't mean to hurt Edalyn"

* * *

"I'm fine. The kid's fine" Eda says, rather suddenly, on a sullen, rainy Tuesday that'd been otherwise silent. Lilith perks up at the sound of her voice, head turning to regard her younger sister (gray, gray, she's so gray now).

"What?" Lilith asks, and she's certain she sounds as lost as she feels. She spares a thought, for how silly she must look, what, with her mouth hanging wide open in confusion, but doesn't linger on it.

"I'm not angry. Okay, I'm still a little ticked, but not nearly as much as I was. I'm good. Luz is good. So you can stop sulking like a kicked puppy, alright?"

She puts down her knitting, blanket folded neatly over her legs.

"What's a puppy?"

"I don't know. They're small and soft. Humans eat them, I think? They're sweet? That's not the point"

"It's been tough. And I'm tired of being mad" Eda's eyes are soft, as she regards her sister. Warm. Lilith doesn't think she's seen Eda look at her like that in a long time (and the mournful edge that's been there for decades isn't gone, but it's less). 

Edalyn pulls her in for a hug. It's awkward and tense, and Lilith is particularly confused by the gesture, but Eda refuses to let go, "We'll be okay. Just so long as you agree to stop doing things that make me mad at you"

Lilith sniffles. She's tearing up, and she's also finding it the taddest bit hard to breathe.

"I- okay. I think I can do that"

* * *

Lessons have been going slowly. Slowly but surely. Luz doesn't mind the casual pace, and Eda seems to have come to peace with the idea that it would take time.

They have time, so it's fine.

Eda gently taps the page on her lap, closes her eyes as if in fear it might not work. Luz cheers happily, clapping her hands, at the sight of an orb of light floating lazily toward the ceiling. 

"Eda, look!"

Eda snaps her eyes open, and grins wide.

Her mouth falls open in pure astonishment, "I did it! I really did it!"

"Yeah!" Luz fist bumps the air. She's about three seconds from rolling into a cartwheel, when she turns to Eda with a smile so wide her face looks fit to split.

"Fireballs next?" She asks, eyes bright.

Eda's matching grin is mischievous, "Yep. Get over here and get to teaching"

Luz is showing Eda a picture of a Fire glyph she'd drawn, as well as a video of her casting a fire spell for the first time on her phone, when Lilith walks into the living room.

She sits cross legged on the floor beside them and smiles tentatively.

"Is it okay if I join your lesson?" She asks, gazing at Luz.

Eda shrugs, and she too turns to Luz.

The girl thinks it over, before nodding.

"Sure"

The more the merrier, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I'm getting back into the groove of writing Owl House stuff. This has been on my mind for awhile, and I thought I should get it out before the hiatus ends. Not that I have any clue when that will happen. Lol.


End file.
